Wednesday, September 26, 2012

I'm so excited with how my little charms are coming out for the
Vintiquities Halloween charm swap. Our goal was to create 15 different
Halloween charms or 3 sets of 5 charms. And I opted to do the latter. I've
embossed brass, poured ICE Resin, torch soldered, iron soldered, wire wrapped,
patina'd, sanded and metal stamped my heart out. And of course, I HAD to create cute little tags
to go with the charms. I got these really cute tags at Michaels on clearance
awhile back, and I simply stamped Halloween images on them.

Totally fun, and I
cannot wait to see what Thespa sends us back...oooh, I think I'm going to do a
charm necklace instead of a bracelet. Gotta show off all the fun stuff! I'll
update the blog with the necklace when I'm done, or if I can't wait, I'll post
a pic of the box when it arrives:P

A most unexpected delight it was for me to discover I would be going to Art is You. I was offered a free class, from the lovely Reva Solomon, and the day was most spectacular! The teacher and class were Metal Deck by Leighanna Light. Funnily enough, Leighanna is from Taos NM! Not so far from my native Santa Fe! Her metal decks, incorporating a wide range of techniques, layers, distress/patina, mica and bits on sheets of metal, were just A-MAZ-ING!

The ladies in class were all just amazing, and I bumped into a familiar face straight away! The lovely Connie Fong was also in class, and we shared a spot together. Connie's metal deck was perfection. I swear she's got "it"...and tons of it!

After our workshop (10-5), we washed up and prepared ourselves for the vendor shows. Many of the teachers who taught just an hour before, rushed into the dinner hall to set up their boothes and tables. Beautiful creations, vintage ephemera, nick nacks of every variety and raffles...oh the raffles just had me drooling. Everything from PMC sugar skull pendant to shrines to art melange journals. I was impressed to say the least! I actually one one too! A precious little tin shadowbox necklace <love>. Thank you Reva for sharing this special treasure of a day with me, you can't begin to know what joy you brought me. I'll have your gifts ready soon:)

We took a small detour, literally 100 ft from the
Tinsel & Treasures event to visit and hang out with Traci Bautista.
When I visited her back in April with the lovely Kristen
Robinson and Ruth Rae, she was just setting up job. And now,
tada, she's ready and having quaint little workshops in her studio.

Natalie Hansen

Our tummies were growling, so we absolutely had to eat at the Sideboard Coffee.
Can I just say that EVERYTHING they make is just heaven to your mouth?! My
absolute favorite, is the Fried Brussel Sprouts with Lemon Aioli...oooooh,
delish!

Cindy and Yolie

We shopped a bit more, headed home to freshen up for round two. When I got home, I
found that I received my 1stICE
Resin Creative Team box of goodies. I absolutely cannot believe how
excited I was to open it. And what a surprise, it was full of allllll sorts of
delicious inspiration! After I finished drooling over my box of goodies, I got
in some snuggles and kisses with the munchkin and hubby & I was off again.

This time I headed to Ay Dios Mio for her Crafty Chica event. A couple
of the girlies and I went to get our books signed and schmooze with the lovely
Kathy Cano-Murillo, otherwise known as the Crafty Chica. She's just lovely and
she brought with her the precious Lizzy
Hernandez, whom I met on FB. It was a truly sisterly connection with
Lizzy...we hit it right off <adore>. What a magical day, and I'm
just so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life, that help make days
like this possible. Blessed!!!

Friday, September 14, 2012

There are just those days, when you need to make yourself something yummy to eat, enjoy an iced latte and kick your feet up for just a few minutes. For me, today was the day. We're under construction at the house today, had people coming and going, all the while trying to maintain a bit of routine for the kiddo. I didn't get a chance to eat this morning, so when I put the kiddo down for his nap, I decided I was going to make myself something nice. I pulled out my favorite dishes with my favorite glasses and even used a cloth napkin!! I thought, why the heck not, I don't have to have friends or family over to do something nice...

So, looked in the fridge to see what we had...need to hit the grocery store <yikes>. I made a toasted omelet wrap. I thru in steamed broccoli and feta, smeared some homemade kale pesto on a toasted tortilla, wrapped it up and sighed at how satisfying it was. Really nice to treat yourself! Gotta remember to do it more often.

So, the house is quiet (for few blessed moments), team of workers are off to lunch...and I'm just enjoying the moment. So, carve out some time and treat yourself today! Have a Happy Day everyone!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Bones in a Box and Matchbox Witchery have quickly become two of my favorite holiday creations. The really great thing about these precious shadowboxes, is that you can wear them or make them into home decor. Totally versatile! Soldering 101 or soldering experience is a must for these cuties.

Kits are available for those of you who are not local - leave me a comment, and I'll make sure you're well on your way to making your very own Halloween shadowbox.

I've been brainstorming a quick and easy class to teach the basics of soldering rhinestones on blanks. I got to playing and before I knew it, I had embossed, torch soldered, patina'd and assembled this funky necklace. I thru in some extra bling by linking in rhinestone chain with the brass chain and added a rhinestone charm to dangle from the bottom. If you're interested, you can sign up to make one of your own & come play at the studio with me!http://aworkofheart.com/calendar/view_event.asp?CalendarID=12743

Saturday, September 8, 2012

I am both honored and excited beyond words to have been selected as one of the Ice Resin Creative Team members for the 2012-2013 year. I'm working with some truly amazing artists, and I cannot wait to share all the fantastic creations we all come up with. If you haven't "Liked" Ice Resin yet, be sure to do it, so you can see the many tutorials & videos shared. Stay tuned for some serious fun!!! And a special thank you to everyone at Ice Resin for choosing us & the Ice Resin Creative Team Alumni for paving the way with your many talents & inspirations!!!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

I'm having a little spooky fun. Wanted to make a little cigar box shadowbox to add to my Halloween mantel this year. Cigar boxes are just the best aren't they?! Once I'm done, with the construction of it all, I'm going to float beeswax over the service and the added ephemera. The Tim Holtz washie tape is beautiful, but not quite sticky enough to really stay put, so my trick is putting ScorTape (double sided sticky tape) on the back of it. It holds soooo well regardless of what paint or adhesive I use. I've gotta sift through my junk bins to find the right bits...that's always the most fun, but hardest too. Where to put them?!